Wild And Wonderful Designs Turn Leggings Into Spring`s No. 1 Hit.

In a season that flaunts the leg-under short skirts or long tops-legwear and bodywear manufacturers are leaping into color and texture in tights, leggings, catsuits and pantyhose. That old standby color ``suntan,`` has, apparently, gone the way of all flesh.

The cling is the thing. Whether opaque or sheer, whatever covers the leg must stretch and snap into place with second-skin precision.

While Lycra and other spandex yarns provide the cling, much of the new legwear, like fashion itself this spring, gets its swing from the 1960s. It began last year with a craze for leggings that paid tribute to the bright, splashy prints popularized by Florentine designer Emilio Pucci some 30 years ago.

The new post-Pucci looks delve further into the `60s with flower power florals, Op Art prints, whimsical polka dots, abstract geometrics, shimmery solids and the sort of bold horizontal stripes that London`s Mary Quant designed when Carnaby Street rocked.

Leggings and one-piece catsuits, though thoroughly modern-looking in the 1990s, actually took their first steps toward fashion respectability in the salons of such designers as Andre Courreges and Pierre Cardin in the uni-sexy, space-age `60s.

Dressed-up legs

Many designers doted on these items for spring collections. Italy`s Gianni Versace spiced his slinky leggings with bright prints, some featuring the silk-screened faces of Marilyn Monroe and James Dean. Karl Lagerfeld made black leggings and tights the pillars of his collection for Fendi in Milan and his own signature collection in Paris.

The French fashion and accessories house of Hermes translated its famous scarf prints into slinky silk jersey leggings, while the Italian fashion and footwear Ferragamo family did their version in a kicky shoe print.

All these ideas have filtered down to less stratospheric price points and the new looks for legs are popping up not only in legwear and hosiery departments, but also in juniors, sportswear, activewear and lingerie areas.

A money matter

Dressed-up legs may be fun, but they also make sense, aesthetically and economically. An interesting leg covering not only is natural with short skirts, it can make them wearable. A stretchy catsuit or a pair of opaque tights, worn under a miniskirt, streamlines a look and the body wearing it.

The revival of ensemble dressing-think of Jackie O in her trim little A-line dresses with matching jackets in the `60s-suggests the sophisticated sleekness of softly colored, coordinated legs.

On the money front, no small matter these days, catsuits, leggings and footless tights, another hot category, add up to savings at the cash register. A catsuit worn under a long jacket or legging worn with a long top can substitute for pants or a skirt at a fraction of the price of a whole new outfit.

In fact, much like cosmetics, legwear and bodywear are a relatively inexpensive way to update a wardrobe or just lift a shopper`s spirits. They`re already lifting retailers` spirits. In a slow economy, the painted leg, ranging from $10 and up, is off and running.